HIST. 201 - Chapter 16: America's Gilded Age (1870 - 1890) Multiple Choice/Review Questions
a. true
"Vertical integration" is defined as one company controlling every phase of the business from raw materials to transportation, manufacturing, and distribution. a. true b. false
b. unequally distributed, with the top 1% of Americans owning more property than the remaining 99%
In 1890, the distribution of wealth in the United States was _______________. a. well distributed, with 99% of people owning property b. unequally distributed, with the top 1% of Americans owning more property than the remaining 99% c. even, with half of the population owning half of the available property d. unknown, as data on wealth was not then collected
c. steel
In which industry did Andrew Carnegie make his fortune? a. mercantile b. steam boats c. steel d. oil
c. led to the loss of tribal lands and the erosion of Indian cultural traditions
The 1887 Dawes Act _________. a. established federal railroad rates, making interlocking directorates illegal b. established a federal minimum wage for women and children c. led to the loss of tribal lands and the erosion of Indian cultural traditions d. guaranteed federal employees an 8-hour day
a. a time of dishonesty and corruption, in which corporations battled each other for special consideration by local, state, and federal governments
The Gilded Age in America was said to be _________. a. a time of dishonesty and corruption, in which corporations battled each other for special consideration by local, state, and federal governments b. an era of opportunity for migrants, immigrants, and Native Americans c. a glittering jazz age and time for youthful rebellion d. a golden age, like that of the period of the American founding, in the late 19th century
c. the Northeast and the Midwest
The Industrial Revolution in the Unites States took place principally in ____________. a. the Southeast and the Southwest b. the mid-Atlantic states and the Southwest c. the Northeast and the Midwest d. the Southwest and the Northwest
a. true
The most famous Indian victory in American history took place in June 1876 when General George A. Custer and his 250 men perished. a. true b. false
c. "cooperative commonwealth"
The phrase that best captures the vision of the Knights of Labor is _____________. a. "survival of the fittest" b. "liberty of contract" c. "cooperative commonwealth" d. "laissez-faire"
a. true
Wage reductions were commonplace during economic downturns. a. true b. false
b. false
With the mechanization of manufacture, skilled workers virtually disappeared from industrial America. a. true b. false
b. false
Yale professor William Graham Sumner believed that America could achieve its ideals only with fair, progressive, taxation. a. true b. false
a. granting land to railroads, removing Indians from desirable lands in the West, and enacting high tariffs
According to Eric Foner, the federal government contributed to the dynamic and expansive growth of the American economy in the late 19th century by ____________. a. granting land to railroads, removing Indians from desirable lands in the West, and enacting high tariffs b. enacting federal child labor laws, minimum wage laws, and maximum power laws c. banning segregation in federal buildings and offering free education to freemen d. ratifying the equal rights amendment act and guaranteeing women the right to vote
b. false
According to Social Darwinism, government should seek to help the poor and build an activist state to regulate the nation's corporations. a. true b. false
d. Samuel Gompers
All of the following were "captains of industry" EXCEPT __________. a. John D. Rockefeller b. Andrew Carnegie c. J.P. Morgan d. Samuel Gompers
b. false
American presidents during the Gilded Age exerted strong, effective, executive leadership. a. true b. false
c. 25 million
Between 1870 and 1920, how many immigrants arrived from overseas? a. 1 million b. 11 million c. 25 million d. 65 million
c. 1/3
By 1913, the United States produced how much of the world's industrial output? a. 5% b. 10% c. 1/3 d. half
a. true
By the 1880s, the labor situation was such that Texas cowboys went on strike for higher pay. a. true b. false
a. true
By the early 1890s, a pension system for Union soldiers and their widows and children consumed more than 40% of the federal budget. a. true b. false
a. true
During the second industrial revolution, wage labor became America's leading source of livelihood. a. true b. false
b. false
During the two decades following the Civil War, which were known as the golden age of the cattle kingdom, cowboys were highly paid. a. true b. false
b. false
General George Armstrong Custer's troops were victorious at the Battle of Little Bighorn. a. true b. false
a. true
In 1869, President Ulysses S. Grant announced a new "peace policy" in the West. a. true b. false
c. William M. Tweed
In the early 1870s, who was considered the political "boss" of New York City? a. Charles Dudley Warner b. Schuyler Colfax c. William M. Tweed d. James A. Garfield
a. true
In the late 1800s, California tried to attract immigrants by advertising its pleasant climate and the availability of land, although large-scale corporate farms were coming to dominate the state's agriculture. a. true b. false
c. Irish-Americans
In the late 19th century, the Republican Party founding particularly strong support among all of the following EXCEPT ____________. a. Protestant immigrants b. African-Americans c. Irish-Americans d. Union veterans
c. "Progress and Poverty"
In which book did Henry George propose a single tax on real estate that would replace all other taxes? a. "Looking Backward" b. "Civic Engagement" c. "Progress and Poverty" d. "The Cooperative Commonwealth"
a. true
Inspired in part by President Garfield's assassination by a disappointed office seeker, the Civil Service Act of 1883 created a merit system for federal employees. a. true b. false
a. true
Neither of the two main political parties embraced any serious federal program to cushion citizens from poverty or unemployment. a. true b. false
a. true
On December 29, 1890, soldiers killed between 150 and 200 Indians mostly women and children, near Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. a. true b. false
a. true
The Civil Service Act of 1883 marked the first step in establishing a professional civil service and removing office holding from the hands of political machines. a. true b. false
a. true
The Electricity Building at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 astonished visitors and illustrated how electricity was changing the visual landscape. a. true b. false
a. true
The Haymarket Affair resulted in the hanging of four convicted anarchists. a. true b. false
a. true
The Knights of Labor regarded inequalities of wealth and power as a growing threat to American democracy. a. true b. false
b. false
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which banned combination and practices that restrain free trade, proved an immediate success, both for its clarity of language and ease of enforcement. a. true b. false
b. false
The Social Gospel movement concentrated on attacking individual sins such as drinking and Sabbath-breaking and saw nothing immoral about the pursuit of riches. a. true b. false
b. false
The West was a remarkably homogeneous region - only in the 20th century would it become ethnically diverse. a. true b. false
a. true
The extermination of the North American bison (buffalo) drastically undermined the livelihood of the Plains Indians. a. true b. false
a. the airplane
The spirit of innovation contributed importantly to the dynamic and expansive growth of the American economy in the late 19th century. Which of the following was NOT an innovation of the 1870s and 1880s? a. the airplane b. the typewriter c. the telephone d. the hand-held camera
c. Chief Joseph
What Indian chief said, "if the white man wants to live in peace with the Indian he can live in peace. There need be no trouble. Treat all men alike. Give them the same law. Give them all and even chance to live and grow"? a. Chief Pontiac b. Sitting Bull c. Chief Joseph d. Chief Lakota
c. The Interstate Commerce Commission
What did Congress establish to regulate economic activity and ensure that railroad rates were reasonable and favoritism was avoided? a. The Sherman Antitrust Act b. The Dawes Act c. The Interstate Commerce Commission d. The Civil Service Act
d. Standard Oil Company
What was the name of John D. Rockefeller's company? a. U.S. Steel b. Triangle Shirtwaist Company c. Union Pacific Railroad d. Standard Oil Company
b. the Knights of Labor
What was the name of the organization that sought to organize both skilled and unskilled workers, women as well as men, blacks along with whites, and achieved a membership of nearly 800,000 in 1886? a. the Workingman's Union b. the Knights of Labor c. the American Federation of Labor d. the Congress of Industrial Organizations
c. 1880
Which census revealed for the first time that there were more non-farming jobs than farming jobs in the United States? a. 1860 b. 1870 c. 1880 d. 1900
a. it was feared by U.S. Army officials
Which of the following best describes the "Ghost Dance"? a. it was feared by U.S. Army officials b. it is an Irish folk dance c. it is a traditional rain dance d. it is an Anasazi dance paying tribute to Kokopelli
d. federal income tax levels
Which of the following was NOT a focus of debate between Democrats and Republicans during the Gilded Age? a. laws governing cultural habits b. tariffs on imported goods c. memories of the Civil War and Reconstruction d. federal income tax levels
a. America's first nationwide railroad strike
Which of the following was NOT a key episode in the "great upheaval" of 1886? a. America's first nationwide railroad strike b. the Haymarket Affair c. Henry George's New York mayoral campaign d. nationwide demonstrations for an 8-hour day
c. indifference to the advantages of guns and horses weakened Indian resistance to U.S. military power
Which of the following was NOT a major reason for the decline and subjugation of the American Indians? a. valuable natural resources out West gave U.S. settlers a powerful incentive to remove Indians b. the widespread image of Indians as barbaric discouraged measures to protect their independence c. indifference to the advantages of guns and horses weakened Indian resistance to U.S. military power d. the U.S. government regularly broke treaties designating which land would remain in the hands of the Indians
b. the growing gulf between the haves and have-nots poses a dire threat to American freedom
Which of the following was NOT a theme of Social Darwinism? a. Charles Darwin's scientific theories help explain - and justify - class inequalities in industrial society b. the growing gulf between the haves and the have-nots poses a dire threat to American freedom c. by and large, the poor have only themselves to blame for their misfortune d. government initiatives to ease the hardships of the poor are misguided
d. low tariffs
Which was NOT a central factor in the explosive economic growth in the Second Industrial Revolution? a. the country's abundant natural resources b. the growing supply of labor c. expanded markets for manufactured goods d. low tariffs